For lovers of fiction.

Women in Fiction: Charlie

This isn’t the first time I’ve disappeared. You think my name is really Charlie Bradbury?

*major spoilers, of course*

Because of my “Thoughts On Supernatural” post I wanted to do one about Charlie after I briefly mentioned her.

Born “Celeste Middleton,” Charlie grew up reading The Hobbit and became interested in everything fantasy. One night at a sleepover Charlie got scared and called her parents to come pick her up. On the way they were hit by a drunk driver, her dad wouldn’t survive but her mom was left brain-dead. This changed Charlie forever.

As she got older Charlie got more into gaming and specifically hacking. For years Charlie created different aliases to pay for her mom’s medical bills while reading her The Hobbit. She eventually was employed by Richard Roman Enterprises and this is where Charlie is thrown into the Supernatural.

Quite literally thrown, Charlie has no control over this. Not knowing her boss was a people-eating monster, Charlie helped him decrypt a message that revealed everything about Leviathans and how they work, resulting in Charlie believing in the things that go bump in the night. Sam and Dean ask her to do something incredibly dangerous and she ends up getting hurt, and disappears but not for the first time in her life.

We meet Charlie again when she’s a Queen at a LARPing of a game called Moondoor. People end up getting killed and Sam and Dean come in and Charlie knows something bad is happening. She has a fling with a fairy and even gets Sam and Dean to LARP with her.

After this Charlie gets more into the Hunting world, even becoming one herself. We don’t see Charlie enough, but when she comes around you know it’s going to be good. A lot of viewers can relate to Charlie. She’s a big geek who loves Harry Potter, Tolkien, and Star Wars and has a Princess Leia tattoo riding a 20-sided die (maybe not the last part.)

It is revealed early on Charlie is a lesbian (probably so fans aren’t “threatened,”) but it’s rarely talked about except for her moment with a fairy. Charlie is determined and once she sets her mind to something she does it. I’ll admit Charlie is one of the few female characters who has been written well from the start.

Her relationship with Sam, and especially Dean, is a brother-sister type. She cares about them a lot, but does leave them to go to Oz with Dorothy (who wouldn’t?) When she comes back she’s not the same and has quite literally, a split personality. The “bad” part causes Dean to hit her almost to death, which also hurts “good” Charlie. Of course she forgives him, but must leave to find a book that will help Dean with is problem.

This leads to the end of Charlie’s story (which pissed a lot of fans off.) Because this book (Book of the Damned) is so special, many different people want it. Charlie is able to decode the writing and send Sam and Dean her findings before putting up a final fight in a bathroom. You could say she sacrificed herself for the brothers (I say the writers didn’t want to write about her anymore.)

Man her death pissed me off. There is one specific character (freaking Metatron) who is still alive, but Charlie’s not. I’m not the only one though, because there is actually a petition to get Charlie back.

Charlie became more than a one-time character (who they originally intended her to be.) She resonated well with fans and we wanted to see her more. The accident that killed her parents could have left her broken and unable to face the world, but it only made her stronger and a better person. A hacker-turned-hunter, Charlie loved the brothers so much she would do anything for them, even get killed.

Whatever happens to Charlie, whether she remains dead or comes back, I’m sure all Supernatural fans can agree Charlie is one of those characters that were only meant for a one time thing and became more (like many characters.) I for one would love for what happened to have never happened, but unfortunately we must continue on, like we did with Bobby or one of the freaking hundreds of people killed off Supernatural.

Rest in Peace Charlie, we hope you’re with your family. You were amazing.